From Notary to Tech-preneur

The Notary industry is still ripe for innovation for those with the courage to step into it. On this first official episode of the Sign & Thrive Podcast (beyond the book narration), our sponsor, and CEO of Jurat, Inc, and creator of the Notary eJournal, Nick Colvill, joins me. Nick is one of us! Mobile Notary. Loan Signing Agent. Signing Company owner. and now, tech-preneur.

Try the Notary eJournal for 30 days for just $1 at www.NotaryCoach.com/ejournal

Episode Highlights:

7:02 This industry is ripe for innovation! Nick addressed two main concerns for Notary journaling- Inefficiency and fingerprint capture.

28:47 Plugging in to this work as a mobile notary and loan signing agent can help not only your clients, but you! Nick gets lit up by his customer interactions and even as he moves more towards tech CEO, he schedules loan signing appointments to keep him connected.

33:57 The Notary eJournal is usable in just about every state, including California. If you're looking for another way to differentiate, check this out!

--- Full Raw Transcription Below ---

Bill Soroka (00:24):
All right. Welcome to the Sign And Thrive Podcast. This is the first edition after the actual full book narration of the Sign And Thrive How To Make Six Figures As A Mobile Notary And Loan Signing Agent. And it's my pleasure to have our podcast sponsor actually, as a guest on today's call. Nick Colvill, CEO of Jurat, Inc, and creator of the Notary E Journal. Thanks so much for being here.

Nick Colvill (00:52):
My pleasure Bill. I appreciate being a part of everything you do, and I'm looking forward to the partnership as both of us continue to grow within the industry and reach out to help people. I think we have a great alignment and I appreciate that Bill.

Bill Soroka (01:06):
Likewise. I think what you just said, there is one of the biggest qualifiers of collaboration is helping people and bringing value to our incredible, not only audience, but these are our peers because you're one of us, Nick, you are, are a mobile notary loan signing agent who recognized a need and you filled that need. And we're going to talk about that a little bit and the journey to get here, here in a little bit. But I want to talk about, you know, you're not just on this show because you are our sponsor, which I'm grateful for. I love our working relationship, but frankly you created something really freaking cool and not only cool, but extremely valuable and it's working. The feedback that I hear when I send somebody over to the notary E Journal is exciting to me. I love being a part of something people love to use. So tell me little bit, tell us a little bit about the notary E Journal, the void it fills and how it helps notaries make more money.

Nick Colvill (02:13):
Well, the, the product itself was built out of necessity mostly by myself and my wife. My wife's a very busy escrow officer of two plus decades. And when I got into the business of being a signing agent and I'm here in California, I started to dive head first into it. And you start to realize where your inefficiencies are. And one of the biggest inefficiencies and the things slowing me down I found was the notary journal. And we do have some strict requirements here in California. That force us to get that thumbprint. Now it, it's not for every document in California, right? There are requirements and sometimes a few documents don't need it, but for the most part, those documents and the notary E Journal or the notary journal needs that thumbprint. So it's pretty much across the board where you're filling out this long journal.

Nick Colvill (03:08):
A lot of information captured a lot of injuries, collected a lot of thumbprints, a lot of all of this data that you have to put into this hardbound journal, and you're all doing it by hand. So it didn't take long before you realize that that's slowing you down. And if you have the ability to try to fix something, then absolutely go for it. And fortunately for us, I've had a few business relationships in the past with people who I really trusted, good friends and business associates on projects that revolved around apps and software and my wife and I reached out and said, Hey, why don't we brainstorm and talk about if something like this is even viable and we'll go from there. And that's the Genesis of the notary E Journal. And the great thing about the notary E Journal from, from start to where we are now is all the testing we put into it to ensure that we building the product with really strict adherence to guidelines from compliance to security.

Nick Colvill (04:06):
When you develop software from the ground up, you have a lot to look at when you're handling data that's so sensitive. So we took our time incorporated the company in 2017 and didn't launch until the tail end of 2020. So it took our time with, with research and development and testing it. And then of course, for us building it around the ability to integrate with a Bluetooth scanning device to even capture that thumbprint, that's what makes us California compliant. So at the end of the day, what we ended up with with a was a product, it was built by us as notaries and, and specifically very high volume signing agents, not just general notary work, which is just maybe one or two documents. We're talking loan packages that have 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 plus notarizations in a given sitting. And that's how we built the app around that need to be able to create an efficient and workflow for these notaries to capture all that data and remain compliant.

Nick Colvill (05:06):
I do think, Bill, that's, one of the problems that I saw in the industry was people were either becoming non-compliant because it was too much of a hassle for them to fill out their journal properly. Maybe they would use arrows and tick marks that you're really not to opposed to do in California, or they would be compliant, which is ideal. But that means that the time spent doing the notary journal was potentially hours a week, sometimes a day, depending on how many signs you have creates a, a problem where people have to then start to prep their notary journal entries ahead of time, maybe the day before things that you, you don't really see until you actually have to do that type of work. So that's how we built the product and, and the, the void we tried to fill. And so far, we, we love the response that we get.

Bill Soroka (05:58):
Yeah. I, I love the approach that you've taken to this, taken with this because it is so easy when it takes in, in California specifically, and there are other states too that have the same requirements, but they're just not as strict about it, but in California the strict journaling requirements, it would add it extra 20 to 25 minutes when done, done correctly on some of these appointments in California. And I know my friend, Laura in California uses your journal. She loves it. And she does. She said, it saves about 20 minutes, 20 to 25 minutes, her appointment, allowing her to be more efficient, capturing that thumbprint too. Can you E more on that to me, you know, there's already one or two other electronic journals for notaries that had sprung up or tried to come into the martket place but they could not solve the problem that you solved with the thumbprint scanner. Can you talk about that?

Nick Colvill (07:02):
That was step one. When we met, before we incorporated the company and we, we talked to the developers we worked with in the past, and we said, here's, here's the biggest obstacle nobody's done this yet. So we need to find a way to be the first to do it, if we're going to be successful. And when we had done the, the market research and realized that that was the biggest pain point, and that was where our focus went to, to integrate some type of device. Now, it's not very common that you have to integrate biometric identifiers into any type of application or software. That's not very common. So we definitely had our work cut out for us finding the hardware that would be able to actually handle that type of work.. We needed to find something that we could even have that was portable, usable in the field so that we could build integration around that wasn't horribly expensive either.

Nick Colvill (08:03):
We don't want to have this huge cost inhibiting factor that makes notaries turn away and say, I don't, I don't want to do that because I'm spending $500 on some type of device that I need. So all of these problems factored in and created a situation, see where we focused so much on it that we found and built solutions that I truly believe are right for the market. And the response we're getting is, is such. So that Bluetooth scanner that we use to integrate with is portable internal battery, lightweight. The thing is, is a, is a brick in terms of its structural integrity. I, I do talk to notaries quite often and they say, I'm not quite sure if I feel comfortable putting that in my bag or, or however you transport your materials, but I let them know. I say, God, you could use that as a, as a paper weight, you could use that to defend your home if needed the thing as a solid, solidly built device that has a very long lasting internal battery.

Nick Colvill (09:06):
And I've been using mine the same one since we were testing and trying out multiple devices from, from back then multiple years of go to now, same device still being used. And it is absolutely reliable. So once we find that product, then we have to build the integration. One of the key points about that integration, Bill, that people don't realize, I like the point it out is that when you build integration software arise around something like this with a biometric identifier, a lot of people don't realize that it's not just an image that this device creates that we capture. They just send data that we have to parse as a software company or a developer. Our backend is built to take all of these, what they call packets, these small pieces of information and piece them together. And this is part of the process that makes it a very secure and safe environment for that data to be captured and not lost elsewhere because nobody else is putting those packets together the way our app is and our interface is.

Nick Colvill (10:07):
So that was our biggest obstacle in general, the, the thumbprint and those requirements. And we love the end result that we have, and I'm very surprised at the amount of people outside of California, who also love that thumbprint capture. Now these are states where they don't have the requirement, but it might be considered the best practice and they're doing it and they're loving it. And they, they tell me that they wouldn't want to do a notary without notarization, without being able to capture that thumbprint, to protect themselves. And that's eyeopening for me being that, I just thought it was a hurdle, an obstacle that needed to be overcome for California requirements. And now we see, of course the, the benefit notaries outside of California as well, too. So that is fantastic.

Bill Soroka (10:56):
Yeah. That, you know, I think for a lot of notaries, it, it kind of blows their mind, especially California notaries. It blows their mind to think that some states don't even require a notorial journal. So I think when they think well, of course they would have a journal. It doesn't, it doesn't go that way. This is groundbreaking for others. And a lot of times when it comes to the thumbprint as well, the the mess from ink thumbprints was part of the reason that a lot of them, they didn't want to carry extra supply, like the extra ink they didn't want to have to have that conversation now it it's clean. You can capture a thumbprint really easily, and it protects not only the notary, but also the integrity of the transaction. It's an extra level of security there for, as a best practice, whether the state requires it or not. But also talk about the cool factor with this. I get so much feedback about how signers are just blown away by this.

Nick Colvill (11:58):
We, we get a lot of, we get a lot of feedback that, that deals with the reactions people are getting. And when I started rolling this out into the field, before we launched publicly, it was just me, of course, testing it when I would go out into my signings and instantly I realized, okay, this is very beneficial in terms of the way it comes off to the clients and the, the impression that leaves them very professional. Very cool. Now this, this works in, in, in multiple different dynamics. If you look at one goal or one, one achievement of this is us as a notary, we're here to be efficient, and we're here to provide an environment that people are comfortable with. So there is a sense of great, this guy has great technology. He knows what he's doing, but on top of that for the escrow officers and the agents who we represent when we are doing a, a signing, a loan, signing a, a purchase or sale.

Nick Colvill (12:58):
It reflects fantastic on them as well, too. The feedback that they then receive is also great. So it works in multiple different capacities by strengthening our integrity as a notary and a public servant. But on the same hand, we we're able create this environment where the signers say, Hey, you know what? I'm really glad that I chose to work with Craig as an agent to lift my home because Craig works with this escrow officer who works with this notary public, and the whole team was a very cohesive and professional, and they used fantastic stuff. And the same can be said about the escrow officers during a, maybe a, a transaction for a refinance and the lenders. It reflects fantastic upon the lenders and the escrow officers as well, too. Everybody's benefited from this. And one of the, the bigger factors that we of course did not anticipate, and we didn't build the product around was, was when COVID hit our ability to provide a clean thumbprint environment as opposed to an ink pad, a lot of notaries might attest to the, the initial pushback they would've received from signers already worried going into this huge unknown when COVID first hit and these lockdown, but they still have loans they have to deal with.

Nick Colvill (14:18):
So you have a notary coming to them. And all of a sudden you're doing it in the garage, in the backyard to try to be safe. Nobody really knows what's going on. And then you, as a notary at the end, say, by the way, here's this germ fested ink pad shared with the world, right. Go ahead and roll that thumb in it. And, and thank you. That's, that's, that's not ideal. And of course I did see a few other products get rolled out in terms of just one single use in thumb prints which I found quite strange, but we were just at the right place at the right time. And when we, when we were deployed out in the field, the feedback we got for, from people who were COVID concerned was also fantastic. You'd be able to wipe that down, sanitize the device, because it is just the regular surface that you put your thumb on. They could see you do it right in front of them. The, it, it, it benefited everybody in multiple capacities. And that coolness factor has, has just stuck around as one of the, the huge selling points for people. And that's fantastic.

Bill Soroka (15:21):
Yeah, I think it it really helps solidify a notary position as, and guys, if, if you're listening to this and you're just blown away by the possibilities with this, check out the demos that we've done, that we've done with Nick at notary E Journal and Jurat, Inc you can visit notarycoach.com/e journal and check those out just so you can see how the blueprint or the thumbprint device works. And it's so fast. I mean, it is incredibly fast as it uploads, but what it does is we're in this technology age where real estate companies and lenders are trying to get super efficient, they're very tech driven. And if the, and usually the clunkiest, most old fashioned archaic part of the transaction is still, I think, the loan signing, but then also the, the notarization component of that really old fashion. So tying this modern journal into that, or this probably poor choice of words there or this a-vant-garde advanced journal really could help the branding of all of those companies that are trying to differentiate themselves with technology.

Bill Soroka (16:46):
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Bill Soroka (17:37):
I also want to talk about something besides the cool factor. Cool is cool, but the security is a huge concern. And I wonder for those that might understand tech and security a little bit more, or just have some aversion to technology for these very reasons. Can you talk to us about the security and maybe even that special audit that I know you're working on?

Nick Colvill (18:03):
So you nailed it when it comes to security being a big factor. And when we built the company, we, we had a few different pillars of, of focus, and one of them was of course, security. And that's with the data of the notary. And then of course, how the data from the signers passed through from the app, which would be a local device to then the servers for storage. And that is somewhere that a lot of time and investment was spent to just make sure we get it right. We like to not only on the backend handle that secure, that, that data securely, but then we also want to make sure that we provide more than a enough features, data points and information for the notary as well, too, and the signers to be able to protect themselves in the case of an audit.

Nick Colvill (19:00):
We'll just use that for an example, or maybe they get subpoenaed and they have to testify in court to something. These are all really important factors that we want to address when we of security of the information, how it moves within the app and our environment, and also how it's presented and available to the notary publics as well, too, which is equally important. So we'll start by talking about a few specifics, not just that general, yes we care.and move on to the next question. We'll talk about a lot of the specifics we use first and foremost, of course, the data is stored in the cloud AWS, and this is how we're able to allow users to freely navigate between multiple different devices, if they want to do something on their iPhone, if they wanted to do something on their, their iPad. And there are a few people who in the beginning, we're recommending that we keep that information locally on that device.

Nick Colvill (19:56):
And a lot of times the concerns that the people had were that you lose the ability to control that information the moment you have a cloud based environment. And it's unfortunate that, that people have that great of a concern around that without being able to, to dig deeper into the the journey that that data takes from local device to secure storage in the cloud. Data being held locally on your device, and only locally on your device would be very, very easy to compromise in compared to data stored in the cloud if stored correctly. And so when you look at how we use AWS, which is the same cloud based service used by Twitter used by LinkedIn used by Netflix Pepsi. These are some of the big names.

Nick Colvill (20:49):
They use AWS to host their, their information, their servers, their data. You're looking at one of the best industry leaders in terms of security and compliance. So we feel very comfortable with that, but you also have to make sure that you get your data from your environment to the cloud, very safe and securely. And that's why our team, that's where our team really came into their, their role of, of strength and the experience that they have prior to building out our product. Our product was built by people who came from the payment processing space and we're talking about processing millions, hundreds of millions of dollars on a daily, on a monthly basis.

Nick Colvill (21:37):
This is a, a, an environment that has a greater set of requirements than most even have the ability to fathom. And it gave me a lot of confidence. Knowing that my backend developers were coming from that space where they have such requirements, because there's such a great amount of risk with moving that much money and the products that they had built and been a part of were products that did just that. And so we look at making sure that we can get our data from our local environment safely and securely, of course, in encrypted that's without a doubt into the cloud. And that's of course, step one, and then to be able to provide access to that information safely and securely, make sure that your interface with an E app is going to require logins. Make sure you look at different options for, do you want to add multiple [unclear] factor authentication?

Nick Colvill (22:28):
Do you want to add touch ID and face IDs? But then when we look at not just the data being securely stored, but then you look at what you're able to present and how you can benefit the notary with the data you capture. Since you capture so much data, every time a movement is made, you have to parse out what you want to present and how you want to present it. And what we provide for notaries is a very safe and secure environment where they can go in and they can see timestamps that they would never see when creating a hardbound journal entry. So to start, we timestamp when you create the entry and this could be when you create it as a draft, or when you're in front of the user. And then we timestamp when you market as complete, and then we timestamp it when you upload it and sync it to the server.

Nick Colvill (23:16):
Now, those last two are typically very close in, in succession, they would typically have for a few, a few seconds after each other, but because we allow this app to function offline for a 12 hour period, for people who need to do notorial work out of an area that has coverage, we do have that offline functionality. And what we do with that data is we get to the end of that notary journal entry. We tell them, okay, you have the option to complete it. If you mark that button, you can't alter that data anymore. Just like a regular, not notary journal. You cannot delete that data and it's going to be marked as complete. And then when you get back into range, you have service. You're able to upload that to the server, and then you have a timestamp that might be half hour to an hour apart, but then we'll keep your journal sequential based on that completed timestamp, because that's going to be the most important timestamp.

Nick Colvill (24:07):
So we look at the data that we capture and we parse it out and we give it to you to protect you in the event of you having to go through an audit. And then we also rolled out a few months ago, the audit log itself, which when you complete and finalize an entry, you can view it. You could scroll all the way down to the bottom, and you're going to a set of actions that were taken from the beginning to the end. And it's got a timestamp for everything. I scanned an ID at this time, I added this signer at this time, I added this document at this time I app, I captured their signature at this time. So we go so deep into these, these data points that we present to you. So they, you can protect yourself as a notary. And that's huge.

Nick Colvill (24:49):
That's massively beneficial in the case of an audit or a subpoena. So we go above and beyond for our users on the, on the front end so that they know. But helping people understand, again, our local environment in the AWS environment and how we handle all of that data, we've wanted to make sure that we could express to the audience, to the, to the public that we do go above and beyond there as well too. And a lot of times telling people how safe it is pointing them to the AWS security compliance requirements. That only goes so far. So back in November, we started the process of going through SOC certification and SOC [unclear] OC certification is a process in which you get audited by an independent firm. They come in and they look at everything you do, every partner, you have integration with every vendor, every we supply every piece of technology you've built how you handle the monies and the, the payments and, and the entire procedure where your buckets are stored in the AWS environment.

Nick Colvill (26:01):
They look at all of this and their job as an independent auditor is that to then highlight any vulnerabilities or inefficiencies, and they produce a, a SOC Compliance report, and then this becomes available to us and to any vendors we want to integrate with and then of course, to the public as well too. And this is just that, that above and beyond extra added seal of approval that we really want to make sure people feel confident with us when they, they trust us with their data and their environment. And this is not something that's easy. This is not something that's cost effective, this audit process, but it's something that is in our opinion is going to strengthen our integrity as a company. And that is invaluable.

Bill Soroka (26:47):
Yeah. You know, I've heard the that process with SOC is pretty intense, extremely expensive and not always easy to pass. So I honor you for taking that on, because I think that is that's next level. You know, if you're going to play this game at such a high level, you've gone through so much already, you recognized a need, you tapped into your, your past resources or even your current resources to get in there and make it happen. Why not take it to the next level there? I think that's going to open some doors. And I think that does bring peace of mind to people in, in the know. So I want to, one thing I want to also talk about real quick before we move on, to your, a little more of your story is how you are adapting to the needs of your audience right now, or your users. Again, some of the other feedback I've heard is that you are extremely attentive. So talk to me about your customer service standards and your openness to new ideas.

Nick Colvill (27:57):
So we built this product in California and that provided a limited set of experiences when it comes to notaries in the field. And we knew that was the case. And we built the product knowing that, yes, we have extensive experience and knowledge and loan signing work in California, but that's not going to suffice for the entire country and the rest of the notaries requirements they might differ. So we knew right away, we'd have to be very responsive to requests and actively hunt out these, these requests, user feedback, things like that. And that's a, a, a core value of ours that we, we still to this day focus very highly on. Now, I have a signing service, of course, as a busy sign agent that needed this app. And then we built this app. So I also do loan signings, and that's been built into a signing service that I decided about five, six months ago, that I was going to step back from that not be in the field nearly as much, which is a big cut for me in terms of, I investing of time out there in the world signing loan packages.

Nick Colvill (29:12):
And now I'm going to, I'm going to hand off that work to other people. I'm going to allow them to take the business that I've built so that I can really focus on Jurat, Inc. and its growth. And part of that is of course, the response rate and the interactions with our users. And that's why when people email support at juratinc.com, that gets kicked straight to me, and then they get a response back from me. And they're talking with the president of the company who can take that feedback and create value by bringing it to our team in a palatable manner where they say, great, that's fantastic feedback. I continually ask for feedback from our users. If they leave our app, for any reason, I ask them to give me some insight into what made them leave when they were getting a on board. I asked them to reach out to me if they need any help and guidance.

Nick Colvill (30:05):
And I provide that whenever it's needed. And to me, that's incredibly important because the more I can find out about how notaries use our product, the better we can make it, and all of our features that we have that we've built from the beginning to now, and that are on a, a list that we're continuing to build out all stem from these types of user interactions, where we ask for that feedback. And it could be as, as simple as people saying, Hey, you know what, I want to be able to quickly change a document from a, an acknowledgement to a Jurat, can you make this process faster? And then I look at, at that process, and I say, gosh, you're right. This might be a three click process right now we can try to make it a one or two click process. Let's add that to the list.

Nick Colvill (30:52):
Those are just examples. That's just one example of the type of user feedback that creates you know, a, a need for us to address it. And then we create a better or version of the app we pump to the app store, and everybody's happy. You do see that we have a lot of, a lot of app updates typically once a week, once every other week. And these are constant updates from that bug report, user feedback, whatever it might be, we address these things and we build out this product continually to meet the growing needs of notaries. And as we expand and get more and more notaries from these different states and we get their feedback, we just keep getting better and better and better. And that's something that we take great, great pride in because we will not allow ourselves to become stagnant. We're not taking our foot up the gas. We're, we're pushing forward Bill, and we're really excited to have feedback that we have and the response from the community.

Bill Soroka (31:47):
Yeah. I'm excited for you too. It's pretty incredible. And that level of service and responsiveness is hard to find these days. So I honor you for that too. Would, is it fair to say that the notary E Journal is usable in most states?

Nick Colvill (32:09):
That's fair to say. Now, a lot of states that don't have the legal requirement to notary journal, of course they can adopt any solution they pretty much like, and pretty much we cover, if I'm not mistaken, 46 out of the 50 states. There are only a few states that strictly prohibit the use of an electronic journal, but even those states, just over the past year, two years, three years have started to adopt different language within their, their government code that allow it, some states that used to not allow it they now allow it. And this is because of electronic signature legislation, raw legislation, things that, that allow their, their notaries to adopt different technologies. And so that, that with us in a great situation, because there are only a few states left in which it's still strictly prohibited based on the verbiage that their secretary of state uses. And that's hopefully for us going to change at some point, but we can only do so much.

Bill Soroka (33:16):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm I keep waiting for it in Arizona, cause we're one of those holdout states, I think one of the, the four for you. So I'm looking forward to that. As we wrap up here, what I I've loved seeing you on our Tuesday notary tightness show, you pop in every now and then, and that's, you always have tremendous insights. So I wonder as we close today's show, if you would share either some advice for loan signing agents that you might have as a signing company owner, or even maybe something that helped you out as a stellar mobile notary agent.

Nick Colvill (33:56):
I think when people ask for advice, it's always, it's always hard to, to provide. And I start answering your question about advice by saying that for a reason, what I've learned over the years, and this is I, I hope to be very valuable advice to anybody who's looking forward. What I've learned over the years is, is if I'm in a situ where I have goals and aspirations and I'm trying to actively get involved in the community and, and maybe I'm looking to ask for advice instead of always asking for advice. What I like to do is I like to just be a fly on the wall and observe people who have done it before and observe their actions, what they do, and just take those notes mentally and see, see what you see, what you can piece together. Because many times when you, you might ask for advice from somebody who's successful in the field, that you're just venturing into, what you might find is that the advice that they give is completely opposite of what they may have done to get there.

Nick Colvill (35:05):
And so it can be a little bit misleading and that's something that I, I fortunately became aware of early on in my, in my, my different ventures and different careers that I, that I was attempting to find success in. And I just, I just couldn't always put their words with their actions and, and find it to be cohesive. And then I wouldn't be able to learn from it. So I would instead just watch their actions and it, it's not just about, okay, I want to be a good signing agent, let me watch them. And somehow try to find a way to watch them sign loan documents for somebody to see how they interact. I'm talking about just how they present themselves, how they speak to, to friends, to colleagues in an environment where they're maybe giving advice you know, the small things, the, the actions that they take that I could really, really, really learn from.

Nick Colvill (36:01):
And then I just try to apply it to myself. And I think when I couple that mindset with the mindset I've always had over my life, which is that nothing is not possible. If this person who I'm, I'm aspiring to replicate is here in this space that I want to be in and they found success. Then there's nothing separating them from me and the ability for me to get there. And that the concept that I find very important because over my, over my entire life, over my entire career and my first job at, at California's great America, I, which to be Paramount's great America, by the way, I I've been fired from almost every, every nine to five job I've ever had. I think it's four. I think I only quit one of them, which was In And Out Burger. And I loved that job by the way. But I I've been fired many, many, many times, and I never, at any point recall feeling a sense of failure and that I could no longer achieve based on that.That never entered my mind. Instead, I would just keep moving forward with whatever it is I wanted to try to do.

Nick Colvill (37:14):
And that's what led me to the path of self-employment in general, which in my early twenties is where I went after being fired. But those, those types of things to watch in an environment that you're trying to succeed in, I think are more important than just the words of advice that people can give, because there is a lot of times conflicting talking points and action items that those people apply for themselves. And it might sound good on paper when they say it a certain way, just do this, do this, do this. But if they did it a completely different way, you just might want to take a note of that and say, you know what, maybe they're on to something. And they, not that they're doing it out of malice, not that this is an attempt to subvert you from being successful in that, that area. But it's just the fact that when asked to give advice, people start to think about what sounds great, and they don't always think about what they did to get there. And that's probably the, the biggest talking point or thought that I'd like to leave people with when it comes to that question.

Bill Soroka (38:19):
Well, that's a really interesting perspective. And it's, it's interesting the timing of this too, cause I am I'm pushing my own comfort zone and I'm reading a fiction book. I never read fiction aside from the classics when I was younger. Right. But I'm reading the Dutch House right now. And in it, the conversation between the characters is about this exact topic. It's that when you look back, when you look back to the past, you're looking at the lens of who you are in the future. So it's really difficult to give advice when you've learned, you've already become someone else through all of your experiences. And then when you're looking back, you're looking at it from a whole new lens then who you were back in that moment when you started making those decisions. So it can be really and I love that you said it's not malice.

Bill Soroka (39:16):
It's just, it's two different human beings. You're there was this human being who was maybe scrappy and did things one way got through it, became someone else and looked back and said, oh yeah, here's maybe what I did or here's what I did. And isn't it obvious. And it's not all the time. It's sometimes it's totally different, and I think that's really solid advice. Take it as a grain of salt and the idea that there's nothing between you and who you're trying to emulate or who has the results that you want. We're all on the same page. Nobody has this figured out. Nobody has it figured out. That's what I've learned. Even, even the people that, you know, they say, don't meet your heroes, but you know, I don't know how I feel about that. But nobody, even though people who I, I thought just had stuff figured out, they don't,

Nick Colvill (40:07):
You, you nailed it. And I think that that famous saying that that history is written by the victors. And if you're the victor in that situation and that people are asking you for advice, because they're, they're where you used to be. You might find yourself accidentally rewriting your own history to be a lot better than you may have actually had it. You might not allude to the times you got fired and you, you did this and you, you found yourself in a, in a heap of trouble. You're, you're going to rewrite that history to, to highlight certain things that might not have taken place. And so that's, that's just what we want to be careful of.

Bill Soroka (40:43):
Yeah. Yeah. Excellent advice, Nick, thank you so much for being here with us today, really appreciate your time.

Nick Colvill (40:51):
My pleasure. It's been fantastic to be partnered with you. Our alignment's great. Like we spoke about in the beginning and I think most important. And the reason that you and I click is that we, we both have a genuine concern for the people we're trying to help. And for the industry itself. We we're doing this because we see the value and we really have faith in what it is that we provide as a service. And that reflects upon everybody we speak to and how we help them. And that's what I love about your audience and your environment and everything that you've created. All of those mistakes you may have made that led you here, I'd say are all worth it in the same way everything I did to get myself here. We're here for a reason. And we're in a position where we're trying our best to help Bill and I admire and respect you for that. So thank you for having me.

Bill Soroka (41:41):
Absolutely. My pleasure. I love, I love this industry. I love this career. And before we even started recording, I, we got to talk about this, but I love the, I'm so grateful that this business and this opportunity has come across my life like this too. And there's incredible people I get to meet like you. So thank you for being here. And if you're listening to this and you're thinking, man, I need to check out the notary E Journal, do [email protected]. We've got that landing page, or you can just go to notarycoach.com/e journal. Nick has hooked us up with a really great offer as well. You can get that as well. Go check out the website too, cause that is a limited time offer. So make sure that you get in there and check that out, but he makes it really easy to at least get in, tinker around with it and try it out really cheap.

Bill Soroka (42:36):
And if you are already working in this industry and you've been in here for a couple years and you sense that this industry is right for innovation,.it's craving people with the courage and the initiative to step into that and take it on and create something like the notary E Journal, a new journal, a new pen, a new car who knows what opportunities are out there. I encourage you to step into that. We're waiting.

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Bill

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